Guatemala has the highest incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the Western hemisphere. The major risk factors in Guatemala are not well characterized, but the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) appears to be low, while the prevalence of aflatoxin (AFB) exposure appears to be high. To examine whether AFB may contribute to the elevated incidence of HCC in Guatemala, this study examined the frequency of the AFB-signature mutation in the gene (R249S) as we…

At the end of February 2020, the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China had drastically slowed and appeared to be under control compared to the peak data in early February of that year. However, the outcomes of COVID-19 control and prevention measures varied between regions (ie, provinces and municipalities) in China; moreover, COVID-19 has become a global pandemic, and the spread of the disease has accelerated in countries outside China.This study aimed to establish valid models t…

Anthropogenic disturbances in the Chesapeake Bay (USA) have depleted eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica abundance and altered the estuary’s environment and water quality. Efforts to rehabilitate oyster populations are underway; however, the effect of oyster biodeposits on water quality and plankton community structure are not clear. In July 2017, we used 6 shear turbulence resuspension mesocosms (STURMs) to determine differences in plankton composition with and without the daily addition of…

ID32308101Published Date2020-04-21JournalJournal of the American Heart Association, 2020-04-21, Volume 9

Background Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) poses a high burden in low-income countries, as well as among indigenous and other socioeconomically disadvantaged populations in high-income countries. Despite its severity and preventability, RHD receives insufficient global attention and resources. We conducted a qualitative policy analysis to investigate the reasons for recent growth but ongoing inadequacy in global priority for addressing RHD. Methods and Results Drawing on social science scholars…

ID32242475Published Date2020-04-07JournalJournal of the American Heart Association, 2020-04-07, Volume 9

Background Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited condition associated with ventricular arrhythmias and myocardial dysfunction; however, limited data exist on identifying patients at highest risk. The purpose of the study was to determine whether measures of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction on echocardiogram including RV strain were predictive of structural disease progression in ARVC. Methods and Results A retrospective analysis of serial echocardiograms fro…

Abstract A wealth of cases – most notably blindsight and priming under inattention or suppression – have convinced philosophers and scientists alike that perception occurs outside awareness. In recent work (Phillips 2016a, 2018; Phillips and Block 2017, Peters et al. 2017), I dispute this consensus, arguing that any putative case of unconscious perception faces a dilemma. The dilemma divides over how absence of awareness is established. If subjective reports are used, we face the problem of t…

Actors at the wealth–power nexus—oligarchs, cronies, plutocrats, and the like—have become increasingly consequential in the global economic, political, and organizational landscapes. Yet, we know little about them, especially the processes by which they gain wealth or power, and then transform one into the other. I suggest that one reason for our limited understanding is that we are prisoners of Aristotle’s conceptualization of them as groups. To break out of that prison, a turn to the indivi…

Ischemic retinopathies are major causes of blindness worldwide. Local hypoxia created by loss of vascular supply leads to tissue injury and aberrant neovascularization in the retina. There is a great need for therapies that enhance revascularization of hypoxic neuroretinal tissue. To test the therapeutic feasibility of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells (hiPSC-ECs) for the treatment of ischemic retinopathies, we compared the angiogenic potential of hiPSC-ECs with ma…